Packaging strip having outwardly projecting cushioning peaks



July 2, 1963 A. w. GAULKE 3,

PACKAGING STRIP HAVING OUTWARDLY PROJECTING CUSHIONING PEAKS Filed Jan. 4, 1957 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR ARTHUR W. GAULKE ATTORNEYS A. W. GAULKE July 2, 1963 PACKAGING STRIP HAVING OUTWARDLY PROJECTING CUSHIONING PEAKS 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 4, 1957 INVENTOR ARTHUR W. GAULKE ATTORNEYS A. W. GAULKE July 2, 1963 s Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Jan. 4, 1957 ATTORNEYS E K T. Ma mm W N6 0 WW 4%,. N 1 1% w H d T M m. a H I- x J w A w iirl lrv W United States Patent 3,095,970 IACKAGING STRIP HAVING OUTWARDLY PRO- JECTIRG CUSHIQNING PEAKS Arthur W. Ganike, Milwaukee, Wis, assignor to Variant Company, Inc., Milwaukee, Wis., a corporation Filed Jan. 4, 1957, Ser. No. 632,562 1 Claim. (Cl. 206-62) This invention appertains to packaging strips of the type employed for encircling the marginal edge of fragile articles to protect the same from damage during shipping and handling.

It has heretofore been proposed (Cortright patent issued April 10, 1956, No. 2,741,362) to provide con tinuous packaging strips having cushioning members projecting from the inner face thereof provided with longitudinally aligned slots for snugly receiving the edge of glass plates at spaced points. These strips do not function Well on thick articles, such as sliding doors for bathtub enclosures and the like and these strips do not eifectively cushion lateral stresses.

One of the primary objects of my invention is to provide a continuous cushioning packaging strip of a substantially U-shape in cross-section defining an outer edge wall and inwardly projecting spaced parallel side walls, the outer edge wall and the side Walls receiving the complete edge of the article to be protected, the outer edge wall having outwardly extending cushioning members for engaging end walls of a carton and the spaced parallel side walls having outwardly projecting cushioning members for engaging opposite side walls of a carton for absorbing lateral strains and thrusts.

Another salient object of my invention is to provide a continuous cushioning strip embodying an inner ply and an outer ply having outwardly projecting spaced cushioning peaks, the peaks being slit transversely with the slits in longitudinal alignment, so that the strips can be folded along the slits into a substantially U-shape in cross-section with outwardly extending cushioning peaks and laterally extending cushioning peaks.

A further important object of my invention is to provide the peaks with a plurality of longitudinally aligned slits, so that the strip can be folded into its U form on any selected longitudinal line of slits and thus give a de sired selected Width to the strip to agree with the width of the article to be protected.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in the novel construction, arrangement and formation of parts, as will be hereinafter more specifically described and claimed, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which drawings,

FIGURE 1 is a front elevational view of a carton housing a fragile article to be shipped, the article being protected by the improved cushioning strip, the carton being partly broken away to disclose the article and strip to view, parts of the strip being also shown broken away and in section;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary top plan view of the improved Strip in its folded U form;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary longitudinal central sec tional view through the complete strip taken on the line 33 of FIGURE 2, looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIGURE 4 is a transverse sectional view through the completed strip taken on the line 44 of FIGURE 3 looking in the direction of the arrows, the view showing in dotted lines the articles to be protected;

FIGURE 5 is a view similar to FIGURE 4 but taken on the line 5-5 of FIGURE 3, looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIGURE 6 is a top plan view of the cushioning strip 3,095,970 Patented July 2, 1963 prior to the folding thereof into its U shape in crosssection;

FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary top plan view illustrating a modified form of the strip;

FIGURE 8 is a central longitudinal sectional view through the modified form of the strip taken on the line 88 of FIGURE 7, looking in the direction of the arrows, and

FIGURE 9 is a transverse sectional view through the modified form of the strip taken on the line 99 of FIG- URE 8, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Referring to the drawings in detail, wherein similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several views, the letter S generally indicates the improved packaging strip for encircling the marginal edge of an article A to be shipped in a carton C.

The article A and the carton C per se form no part of the present invention and the carton can he of any well known construction. As illustrated, the article A can be considered as a sliding glass door for bathtub enclosures or any similar article having a material thickness. In the present instance, the article A is shown to be provided with a metal rim R. The carton C includes end walls 8 and side walls 9.

The improved packaging strip S includes a continuous fiat inner ply 10 which can be formed from any desired material, such as chip board, corrugated board or the like, and the outer continuous ply 11. The outer ply 11 is folded transversely at spaced points to provide outwardly projecting peaks and straight connecting portions 13 between the peaks. The straight connecting portions 13 abut the inner ply 10' and are secured to the inner ply in any suitable manner, such as by the use of an adhesive or by metal staples or stitches. In the form shown in FIGURES l to 6, inclusive, the outwardly projecting peaks 12 are of a substantially U-shape but obviously, these peaks can take any desired form. In accordance with my invention, the peaks 12 are provided with transversely extending slits 14. These slits 14 are arranged in longitudinal alignment. The slits extend entirely through the peaks and down to the inner ply '10. The slits weaken the peaks transversely and thus the entire strip is Weakened along spaced parallel lines. The strip is folded along these longitudinal lines to form a protecting member of a substantially U-shape in cross-section and this U-shape in turn defines an outer edge Wall-15 and inwardly extending spaced parallel side walls 16. Thus it can be seen that when the strip S is folded into its U-shape in cross-section, that the peaks are divided into three sections, namely, a central outwardly extending section and laterally extending side sections.

In actual practice, the slits are formed a desired distance apart so that a strip S will be formed of a correct width to agree with the thickness of the article or articles to be protected. As suggested in FIGURES 4 and 5, two doors or panels A can he placed in facial relation and the strip S is then placed around the marginal edge of these two articles. Again, there will be laterally projecting peaks having cushioning properties for engaging the opposite side walls 9 of a carton and outwardly proiecting cushioning peaks for engaging the end walls 8 of a carton.

As heretofore stated, the cushioning peaks can take different forms and in FIGURES 7 and 8 and 9, I have shown peaks 17 of a V shape. In this form, I also prefer to provide the peaks with a plurality of transversely extending slits 18 and the slits are arranged in longitudinal alignment. As illustrated, seven longitudinal rows of slits 18 are provided and the strip can be folded along any selected row of slits. Hence, a strip can be folded of any desired, selected width.

Great stress is laid on the fact that the strip is of a 3 U-shape in cross-section for completely encircling the marginal edge of an article to be protected, and that the strip is provided with lateral cushioning peaks and outwardly projecting marginal edge peaks.

Changes in details may be made Without departing from the spirit or the scope of this invention, but What I claim as new is:

A shipping package fore. sheet of glass or the like comprising a carton including end Walls and facing side walls, a continuous cushion and suspension strip encompassing the periphery of the sheet of glass disposed in the carton including a longitudinally extending flat inner ply and a longitudinally extending router ply secured at spaced points to the inner ply, and outwardly projecting cushioning members formed on the outer ply between the points of securement of the outer ply with the inner ply, said cushioning members being slit transversely with the slits in longitudinal alignment and extending the length of the strip, said plies being folded longitudinally on said strip and said strip being of a U-shape in'cross-section defining an outer wall of a 'width substantially equal to the width of the sheet of glass extending completely along the entire edge of the sheet of glass and spaced side walls engaging the opposite faces of the sheet of glass leaving the major portion of the opposite sides of the sheet of glass clear and said cushioning members projecting outward from the outer wall of the strip in engagement with all of the carton end Walls and laterally from the side walls of the strip into engagement with the facing carton side Walls and spacing the sheet of glass from said end Walls and side walls.

References Citedin the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 484,628 Chapin Oct. 18, 1892 1,121,232 Davis Dec. 15, 1914 1,765,226 Fountain June 17, 1930 1,997,905 Hellman Apr. 16, 1935 2,176,284 Whiteford Oct. 17, 1939 2,695,126 Russell Nov. 23, 1954 2,728,479 Wheeler Dec. 27, 1955 2,747,787 Davidson May 29, 1956 2,769,534 Lidgard Nov. 6, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 3,594 Great Britain July 21, 1883 471,136 Great Britain Apr. 22, 1936 

